The most important thing will be to develop a system that will enable the crew to inspect the underside of the shuttle while on orbit.

Then, whether they can fix the problem on orbit or not is a secondary consideration...

It is very possible that even if such a kit were on the shuttle, that it wouldn't have been able to solve the problem that caused the disaster...However,if the crew had the ability to determine the tile status while on orbit, then it would have been possible to measure the true extent of damage to the shuttle in advance, and then a rescue mission and/or more substantial salvage/repair mission could have been launched...

I guess the long and short of it is, the kit will be a band aid...Granted it might prove to be an important band-aid on some future flight.

Unfortunatly, oversights that sometimes cause death are a part of the cost of just about any technical advancement. (Just ask any ambulance chasing attorney)

Scott Evil